Fourth of A Trinity
by DragoonElec
Summary: Amestrian Alchemy, Xerxes Alchemy, Xingese Alkahestry. These exist as a trinity. It's up to two alchemists to discover the secrets of the fourth alchemy...nothing?  Please review, I want to grow as a writer.
1. 1 Mark of One's Past

_Note: All characters in this chapter are original. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, just the characters in this chapter._

**Chapter 1**

"**A Mark of One's Past"**

"Argh, damn this hurts."

"Well, you were the one who wanted to get the tattoo, so you gotta deal with it."

"I know. I'm going to push through this; for my family," replied the teenager as he sat in the chair.

"Whatever, kid. I'm just here to pump ink into your skin, not hear about your past."

The boy lowered his gaze, almost in an attempt to glare at the tattoo artist. However, the glare was quickly lost, as he realized that the man was right, but that didn't stop him from flashing back to what he was going to tell the guy about. If anything, it would keep him from thinking about the pain shooting from the backs of his hands.

"To think it was only a year ago…" he remembered.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"Come on, big bro. I want to play hide-and-seek," a young boy said, as he struggled to keep up with the older boy in front of him.

"I can't right now, Mike; I've got to study," the older one, carrying a stack of books, said, "Besides, you just turned 12. Shouldn't that be enough of an indicator that hide-and-seek is getting a little too childish?"

"Awww, come on, Jeff. I just turned 12 last week; can't we have one last game? I promise to go easy on you," Mike chirped, attempting to bait his brother with a challenge.

Jeff turned around at that little quip. "Alright, you spoke the magic words. I'll play one last game with you."

"Alright! You go hide first. I'll count."

"Good luck trying to find me, little brother."

At that last statement, Jeff ran off to find the perfect place his brother would never think to look. Not to say that Jeff was an immature person; he had just finished puberty, but his inner child could be easily brought out by the simplest of phrases or actions. It's what makes him seem younger than he is.

The house was pretty big; not a mansion, but not a shack. Jeff ran into the foyer, stopping right on top of the Kaiser family crest. He looked up to see a bunch of rafters, thinking that they would be perfect.

Out of his pocket he pulled a sheet of paper, a pen, and what looked like a tree seedling. On the paper, he drew an intricate symbol; the pride and joy of his family, the Plant "Transmutation Circle," as he had learned it. It was different from other plant transmutation circles in that the formula didn't seem to add up, and it caused something different to happen; something that a normal plant transmutation shouldn't be able to do.

That didn't stop Jeff from placing the seedling in the middle of the paper and activating the circle. Out of the seedling, a beanstalk-like vine rose up, carrying Jeff to the rafters, where he hopped up and redrew the circle on the vine. He activated this one, returning the vine to its state as a seedling. He had successfully removed any trace that he was on the ground in the foyer.

He knew that it was the perfect hiding place. It was so crafty that he ended up falling asleep.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"JEEEE-eeeeeeffff, where are you?" Mike howled into the halls of his family's house, running almost at top speed looking for his older brother.

Just as Mike was turning a corner, he bumped into the figure of a man and fell to the floor. In front of him was the figure of his father, Lieutenant Colonel Verde Kaiser.

"Son, what did your mother and I tell you about running in the house?" Verde said with an annoyed tone.

"Only run if you are being pursued by the enemy," Mike replied, with a tone that was seething with monotony.

"Oh, darling; he's just a boy. Let him have some fun," said the voice of another figure behind Verde.

"I know, Sarah. But you know how much I hate having to repeat that the boys _shouldn't_ run in the house," Verde replied.

"Oh, hi Mommy," Mike chirped in. "I'm playing hide-and-seek with Jeff."

"See dear, the boys are just bonding like brothers should. I wish I'd done the same with my brother," Sarah said to Verde, matter-of-factly.

"Fine, fine. Go back to your game, just don't break anything," Verde said to his young son.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll make you proud."

Mike ran off, remembering that the only place he hadn't checked was the foyer; completely forgetting that his brother could use his odd alchemy to hide in places a normal human could only hope to reach.

As he arrived at the foyer, Mike was able to notice that there was a pen lying in the middle of the family crest. He picked it up knowing that his brother had to be near.

Just as he was about to look up, there was a knock at the door. Mike, being raised to open the door to see who knocked, did just that. The man standing there was not anyone that the 12-year old had seen before in his life. By default his question ended up being an emphatic: "Who are you?"

The man standing there looked down at the child in front of him, completely emotionless. Without warning, he took his left hand and thrust it straight into the young boy's chest, dead center, cracking through sternum, and the entire rib cage. The sound of the boy's chest shattering would be enough to make the bones of the dead shiver, but nothing would compare to the sound of the man's other hand making its way through the boy's stomach area; rupturing several internal organs.

"It doesn't matter."

"Son, who's at the d…" Verde spoke as he entered the foyer area, stopping right in his tracks to see the sight of his son, impaled on the arms of the man. In the two seconds, it took him to process what had just happened, his face changed from shock to pure rage.

"Zero…You bastard!" Verde growled as he tore off his left sleeve. Underneath the sleeve was an intricate tattoo, not unlike the one that Jeff had used to get to his hiding place. Just as the sleeve hit the ground, the tattoo started to glow green.

"Ah, the fabled alchemy of Verde the Sorcerer," Zero said, as if he had expected this to happen. He added, "This is the whole reason I'm here right now."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll soon find out."

Verde charged at Zero, clutching a seed in his left hand. As he approached Zero's vicinity, the seed grew and expanded to become a sword. Zero stood motionless as Verde charges. Just as the second the blade got close to his neck, Zero ducked and delivered a powerful blow to Verde's chest.

Verde was thrown back to the wall he charged from. He looked up to see Zero's hands glowing.

"VERDE!"

Verde turned to see his wife running to his side. She knelt next to him and noticing the wounds. Silently, she confirmed what has happened and started her work. With her hands wrapped around medicinal herbs, she pulled out a cloth with another odd transmutation circle on it, and began using it to heal her husband.

"Honey, now's not the time to be healing me. He's right behind you," Verde said just as Sarah's healing began.

Sarah turned to catch the sight of Zero moving his glowing hands in an intricate fashion, not unlike the tattoos on Verde's arm, but more intricate. A look of fear ran across her face, until she noticed the lifeless body of her son at Zero's feet. Words could not describe the rage and fury that flew across her features when she realized it was Mike.

"You monster," she whispered, shaking with rage.

Zero stopped the motion of his hands, still emotionless.

Sarah then flung herself headlong at Zero brandishing poisonous plants in her hands. As she ran at Zero, she shrieked at the top of her voice, "I"LL KILL YOU!"

The sound of her scream was enough to wake Jeff up, who looked down to see the sights that left their mark on him for all eternity.

He looked down and saw his mother, no more than two feet away from Zero, poised to kill. At that moment, one of Zero's hands released a focused burst of light energy that pierced straight through her forehead; the other hand released a similar burst of energy that went through her heart. She fell to the ground, and she died the very instant her head hit the floor.

Zero turned around and headed straight for the door.

"Get back here, you shithead," Verde spoke, his sword raised.

Zero only paused.

"There's no further need for me to be here. Everyone who could get in my way is dead." He replied coldly.

"What are you talking about? I'm still alive."

"No, but when I struck your chest earlier, I placed a Rune over your heart. Pretty soon, your body will reject your soul, and you will suffer and die as a body without a soul. A death such as this is fitting for the only other man who can utilize the powers of That Place," Zero said, turning only his head.

"Get back here, so I can ki…" Verde started. He was unable to finish that sentence, as his body started to convulse in throes of pain.

"There we go. Now you will not stop any of my plans," Zero said, walking away.

Jeff, still in shock, froze with the fear of the man who had just walked out. This man had killed his mother, and sent his father spiraling into a torturous pain. If his father's screams of agony hadn't snapped him out of his state of unmoving terror, he would have remained upon the rafters for the rest of his days.

Jeff used his alchemy to make his way back down from the rafters, just as his father had stopped convulsing, and was lying in a pool of blood; his, his wife's, and his other son's.

"Dad, are you alright?" Jeff asked his father.

"Jeff…No. I'm going to die right here on this floor," sputtered Verde, barely conscious by this point.

"Who _was_ that scary guy?" Jeff asked.

"That was an old rival... from the military. His name is Zero; better known… as the Null-Void Alchemist."

"Why did he come here and kill everyone?" Jeff asked, ready to break down.

"It's… because of the blood that…runs in my veins and…by extension…_yours_. We… have the blood of…the Runists," Verde spoke, his tone weakening.

"Runist? I-I don't understand," Jeff stammered.

"The family library will tell you all…you need to know. I-I'll give everyone… your best… in the afterlife," Verde said, starting to tense up.

"Dad, what should I do?" Jeff inquired, knowing he wouldn't get the answer.

Verde relaxed one last time, giving his last words, "Whatever you feel… is right. Goodbye son." Verde closed his eyes, just as he convulsed again. Within the next 10 seconds, his body gave out; and he finally died.

Jeff sat there for five minutes, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of the people he knew and loved his entire life. He let out a scream that could have woken the dead; would only have been that simple. He broke down, soaking in the blood of his family. It was only after several passing moments that he finally got the strength and courage to stand up. A change happened at that moment… seen in the boy's eyes; a complete turnaround from the calm and childish person who played nicely with his younger brother. In his place, there stood a dark, fiendish monster. He was a creature…one with a grin that showed the dark revenge coursing through his mind.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"Huh…GYAH!" Jeff sighed, but was interrupted as the tattoo artist finished his work.

"There, you got those weird symbols tattooed like you wanted. What are you gonna do now?" asked the man as he stood up and began cleaning off his tools.

Jeff looked at the backs of his hands, now branded with the same markings as his father.

"I'm going to get some answers."

In his eyes, you could see the determination and the hatred that filled him. He held his hands up to his face, ready for action.

The tattoo artist turned to see the kid, poised for battle, staring towards the great unknown. Shaking his head, he reached to the blue wall in front of him.

"Whatever you say, kid…_weirdo_."


	2. 2 Conflicting State of Mind

(Note: I don't own Arturo or Fuhrer Bradley. Arturo belongs to my friend, Wolfborg007. Fuhrer Bradley belongs to the genius of Hiromu Arakawa.)

**Chapter 2**

"**Conflicting State of Mind"**

Jeff stood outside the large building, taking the time to soak in the fact that he is standing outside _the _Central Command.

"Time for the exam," he said, mentally preparing himself.

Jeff made his way up the steps and opened the doors to the building, only to find himself swimming in a sea of people. They all turned to look at the 19 year old standing in the doorway. To them, he looked like just some random kid. Jeff had a problem carrying himself with confidence after _that _day. One of the larger men in the room walked towards him; he looked to be in his mid-30s.

"Well, well… It looks like some kid is here to visit the military facilities. What are you doing here, kid; a school project?" the guy asked, with a tone that suggested that he was speaking to a child.

"No…I'm here to take the State Alchemy Exam. I'm guessing that's what you're here to do, as well," Jeff replied.

"HA!" the older man retorted, "You honestly think that a little kid like _you_ has a chance at becoming a State Alchemist? That title is reserved for the elite alchemists of this world; not for some kid who makes a little clay cup that his mommy puts on the window sill above the sink."

The figure of a tall man in a military uniform peeked out from the shadows, staring in the direction of the commotion, looking unphased. He looked to be about two years older than Jeff. One hand was in his pocket, while the other was resting at his side; Jeff instantly noticed the intricate transmutation circle that was embroidered on his gloves. A silver chain was hanging out of the other pocket, indicating his status as a State Alchemist. Not a soul in the room noticed his presence; they were all too focused on the circle that had formed in the center of the room.

As Jeff looked around, he realized that he was being surrounded by other applicants, many of which were at his height, but those that weren't were the same size as the first one to harass him.

"Go back home kid; you don't want to embarrass yourself."

"This place is for men like us, not some little boy."

These comments were tossed around from one person to another, but were obviously directed at Jeff. After all of the constant berating, he lowered his head, so that his hair covered his shameful eyes.

The State Alchemist started to show a slight grin when the thought of the teenager in the center of the circle breaking down crying in front of these multiple rivals, passed through his mind.

Just then, Jeff ran out of the circle, past the State Alchemist with his head still bowed. As the boy passed, two things about him caught the Alchemist's eye; the symbols tattooed on Jeff's hand and the lack of tears. He decided to follow Jeff, wanting to follow his own curiosity and ask the kid some questions.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

The Alchemist tracked Jeff to a dead end hallway, where he found the kid kneeling on the ground, his head as down and submissive. He was panting heavily, but the Alchemist noticed that there was still no evidence of tears to be found.

"Hey," the Alchemist said, with a tone of slight annoyance. Jeff looked up with a sudden look of surprise. "Will you get off of the floor and stop being such a little bitch?"

"Who are you?" Jeff asked, somewhat confused as he moved from a kneeling position to a squatting one.

"My name is Arturo, Arturo Mustang. I'm a State Alchemist," replied the older Alchemist, pulling out his silver pocket watch, "I noticed you out in the other room with the other applicants. You seem to be lost about the entire State Alchemist process…"

"Yeah, it's my first time applying to become a State Alchemist. There are still some things I'm unsure about the whole thing," Jeff replied truthfully.

"I figured _that_ out by watching how many times you turned your head. I guess I _could_ give you some help, but you have to tell me a few things about yourself in exchange. First of all, what's your name?" Arturo inquired.

"My name is Jeff Kaiser. I'm the son of Verde Kaiser, the Plant Alchemist; he was better known by his other name, Verde the Sorcerer," Jeff replied quickly.

"Ok…whatever… You know that in order to apply, you need the recommendation of someone in the military, right? Who's your State Alchemist recommendation?" Arturo asked, leaning against the wall comfortably.

"Well, my father was a State Alchemist before his death. I thought that would count enough as a recomme-" Jeff started to say, but he was cut off by Arturo firmly slapping him in the back of the head.

"You idiot! This isn't some kind of easygoing league where your _daddy_ can get you in. No wonder the assholes out there were walking all over you and you came back here to cry. You're a _dumbass_!" Arturo scolded.

"Enough!" Jeff said his tone completely changed.

Arturo looked surprised at the sudden change in the boy's voice, losing all air of immaturity. He watched as Jeff lifted his head, and the person that was staring back at him had the same features, but his aura and expression revealed a darkness and evil that could only be paralleled by a demon straight out of hell.

"I think you've said enough about me," the darker version of Jeff said.

"Who are you?" Arturo asked, intrigued by this change.

"I never really gave myself a name," he started, "but then again, there aren't many good names for someone like me. So, why don't you just call me, Resiak; if you make it long enough to say my full name," he ended, with a fiendish grin and a blood-thirsty stare.

"Hmmm?" Arturo questioned.

Resiak, in one smooth motion, grabbed a seed from the pouch on his right hip, held it to Arturo's throat, and transmuted it into vines that wrapped around the Alchemist's neck. In shock, he tried to jump back, but the constriction of the vines caused him to fall back, hitting the floor.

As he looked up towards the demon, Arturo was able to catch a better glimpse of the circle on his hand. He remembered seeing the symbol in a book in the library, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was; all he remembered was that only a few select people were able to utilize it. He would have remembered more but he met the gaze of the person who pinned him to the ground, and the thought was quickly lost.

Resiak started to growl and hiss through a fiendish grin as he looked over his prey. The grin widened as he decided to tighten the grip of the vines he was holding around Arturo's neck. He didn't notice that Arturo hand pulled one of his hands out of his pocket.

"Glllk," Arturo gasped airily as the vines tightened. As he raised his quivering hand, he couldn't help but think to himself: "Like hell I'm going to let you kill me you asshole!"

The instant he snapped his fingers, a small thread of blue light emerged and went in Resiak's direction.

The small bolt was one that would've gently subdued a normal foe. As it flew, it hit Resiak's forehead, stimulated his brain and stunned his entire body. The hand holding the vines loosened considerably and fell to the side. Arturo stood up, taking deep, gasping breaths and looking back at the motionless body kneeling upright.

He looked back, just as Jeff's eyes seemed to click back.

"What just happened? I have a killer headache," Jeff said, back in control of his body. He glanced over at Arturo, and saw the marks he had been left. He looked down at the ground and saw vines, quickly realizing he had something to do with both. "Oh crap, did I do that to you? I'm so sorry," Jeff quickly said, bowing his head in a sincere apology.

"It's nothing… it's not like I haven't been _strangled_ before," Arturo said, rubbing his sore neck, "I just never thought I'd have the actual intention to kill someone…_especially_ some _newbie_..."

"I-I'm really sorry, I-I don't know how this happened, but I'm _truly_ sorry," Jeff said hurriedly, his head still bowed.

"ALRIGHT!" Arturo muttered loudly. "_God_, get up off the floor and stop apologizing. You won't get any respect from those assholes outside if you keep acting like a little bitch."

"Wow… no need to get so angry over an apology," Jeff retorted, as he returned his feet. "Besides, I'm screwed about going out there if I don't get a recommendation _fast_."

"_Fine_… How about we make a deal?" Arturo said, his voice dripping with a hint of cunning. "_I'll_ be your recommendation." He said with a smirk.

Jeff seemed to light up a bit, but hid it quickly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Arturo raised a finger to stop him.

You couldn't forget Equivalent Exchange…

"But… you have to tell me about the weird transmutations circles on your hands after the exam ends," Arturo said, pointing at Jeff's hands.

"That's a fair trade off, I guess," Jeff said almost immediately.

"Good, now get going. The written portion of the exam is going to start in 10 minutes," Arturo said looking at his watch.

"Oh, crap! Thanks, Arturo. I'll talk to you later," Jeff said, quickly bolting down the hall, towards the entrance area.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

Several hours passed and slowly, the applicants left the testing room one by one… Eventually, Jeff was one of them, and he gave a sigh as he finally finished his exam.

"Wow, that written test wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Jeff said, walking out of the room.

"Nah. That was the really _easy_ part. Basically, it's just to weed out the overambitious fools who think that they can just pick up the title and pick up chicks," said a familiar voice to his left. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Arturo leaning up against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. "The harder parts have yet to come; the interview and the field test." The older Alchemist replied coolly.

"Ok then, when's the interview?" Jeff asked eagerly, mentally preparing himself.

Arturo couldn't help but chuckle at Jeff's enthusiasm.

"Well, seeing as they have to _grade _the exam… and calculating the amount of applicants and the probability of each of them succeeding…" Arturo muttered as he looked up at the ceiling, doing his mental calculations, "I'd give it…about…"

He glanced down at his watch,

"And hour… maybe a _little _bit more…"

"_One_ hour? That quickly?" Jeff asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah…" Arturo responded, "Usually in the case of a huge influx of applicants, they fail _anyone_ who gets the first question wrong. However… they always make it a vital question that _all _alchemists _should _know, as to pick out the amateurs or the flat-out slackers." Arturo said, smirking.

"_Wow_, I wonder how many people are going to make it, then," Jeff said as his mind started to wander. "The question was, 'What is the most crucial part of any transmutation?' The answer is obviously 'equivalent exchange.'"

Arturo smirked as he heard the correct answer.

"Well, _someone _did their homework." He thought to himself, rather impressed.

"Out of all of them… I'd say about… 12 are going to make it. So, you better get ready to do your interview today," Arturo said, glancing at the office, "And you have to _prepare_ for this part… improving it isn't going to cut it… Come on… let's go get you ready for that interview…"

Jeff nodded, his eyes blazing with determination.

"Okay! Let's do it!"

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"So, tell us. Why is it you wish to _become_ a State Alchemist?" one of the shadowy silhouettes asked, eyes focused on Jeff.

Jeff remained silent for a few seconds, pondering his answer before giving it, "When I thought about it, the only thing that popped into my head was to continue my family's legacy. But, it hit me that I could also become a State Alchemist as a way of helping my country. I figured that doing both would be the best use of my life, instead of not doing anything at all."

"You said 'continue your family's legacy.' That means your parents are…" a familiar voice started.

Jeff was awe-struck by person who spoke; Fuhrer King Bradley.

"Y-yes sir. My father was The Plant Alchemist, Verde Kaiser and my mother was one of the top medics in the military, Sarah Kaiser," Jeff replied, suddenly growing nervous.

Just as Jeff gave his answer, the Fuhrer opened his right eye for a moment to look at Jeff. The expression was hidden well, but he was thinking about something… Nevertheless, he quickly returned to his more cheerful façade.

"I see… Well, if you pass the field test tomorrow, then you _may_ get your chance to do just what you said," the Fuhrer said with a smile, "You may go."

"Th-thank you very much, sir," Jeff said, standing and bowing respectfully to the panel of interviewers.

He walked out of the room and Bradley opened his right eye once more. "Zero, you damn fool… You seemed to have neglected finishing the job," Bradley thought to himself as he waited for the next candidate to walk into the room and take his place.

_Chapter End_


	3. 3 Wings of an Angel

Note: The only character I own is Jeff. Arturo belongs to Wolfborg007, The Fuhrer belongs to Hiromu Arikawa.

**Chapter 3**

"**Wings of an Angel"**

"Well, how'd the interview go?" Arturo asked, watching Jeff leave the testing room.

"They said that I'm going to be taking the field test tomorrow," Jeff replied.

"Congrats!" Arturo said, patting him hard on the back, "Now all you need to do is, come up with a new and _original _concept, master it, wake up for the test, deal with your _crippling_ stage fright, and complete everything _flawlessly_, all within the course of…16 hours," Arturo said smugly, "Not too much, right?"

"If you're trying to get me to fail, then it isn't going to work," Jeff replied, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, I'm just having fun…" Arturo answered, "I don't think you'll screw up _too _badly. Just prepare your idea and relax. You _do_ have an idea, don't you?"

"Uhhh…" Jeff started, looking slightly embarrassed.

Arturo shook his head, putting it in his hand. "You _are _hopeless. _First_, you don't have a solid recommendation, and _now_ you don't know what to do for the field test… Geez!"

"That's not true!" Jeff argued, "I've been doing research on a technique that hasn't been done before because people have deemed it impossible!"

"Really…" Arturo said, as he began to ponder the idea.

"Yeah… I just don't understand why everyone says it can't work… It makes _perfect _sense to me… I mean-" Jeff began.

"NO! Don't tell me anything about what you are planning on doing." Arturo interrupted, putting up a gloved hand to silence him.

"But weren't you gonna help me?" Jeff asked, "I've never been through this before! And you're already certified!"

He was growing angry at this guy's mind games.

"What do you expect me to do?" Jeff shouted.

Arturo looked at him,

"There's a reason why I'm not interested… _I'm_ going to be one of the people watching the field test, so… I want you to surprise me… Besides, I have a date tonight with a _very _pretty blonde…so, I don't have time to help you out this time."

He smirked, looking at Jeff's shocked expression.

"You're not helping me because you have…_a DATE?"_ Jeff yelped, "That's ridiculous!"

"Hey, hey, hey… What did I tell you about being a whiny bitch? Just go back to where you're staying and get ready… You're gonna need all the time you can get… I'll see ya later." He said as he turned and walked away, "Besides, I have enough faith in you…"

Jeff stood there for a moment, but shrugged. He wasn't going to ask any more questions about his new friend.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow," Jeff replied as he went and headed in the opposite direction.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

Jeff's apartment had quickly become a clutter of papers and books. All around him were several sheets of paper that had failed attempts at creating the formula.

It was a wonder how he was able to carry all of the books that he needed with him at one time.

"The research is definitely telling me this technique can be done. But when I create the formula, something isn't adding up…" Jeff muttered, rapidly becoming frustrated.

A sudden surge of adrenaline rushed through him as he took another glance at his failed work.

"DAMMIT!" Jeff snarled, gripping his head tightly, "I'd go and test it out, but I'd die if I ended up failing,"

He gave a defeated sigh, "Why did I have to pick an impossible technique to prove my skill?"

Jeff, after he collected himself, dove back into his work, making formula after formula, until he couldn't work anymore and fell asleep.

He was awakened by light hitting his face from the nearby window. Glancing over at the clock he was happy to see that he hadn't overslept. Picking up the last sheet of paper he worked on, he glanced over it one more time… Just one more minute to cram…

"Geez, _this _is the best I could come up with, and it's _still_ not complete. _Dammit_," Jeff muttered to himself.

He stood up and after stuffing the paper into his pocket, he glanced out the window and taking a deep breath, headed out the door towards Central… and his exam.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"Alright, now you get to see what a _real_ alchemist can do!"

The applicant grinned arrogantly as he drew a transmutation circle in the dirt.

The other applicants watched as the man began transmuting the nearby water and trees into a sub-par fountain. On top of the fountain was the small figure of a bird spraying water from its open beak.

Jeff glanced over at the judges, who were obviously unimpressed by what had been done many times before.

Just as the applicant looked towards the judges, to see their reaction, the fountain fell apart.

"Of course it wouldn't hold. Creating a fountain out of wood is like making an oven out of ice," Jeff thought to himself with a roll of his eyes.

Almost by coincidence, the Fuhrer said to the other judges, "Water and wood aren't meant to mix in that way; besides, we need something to use in combat, not to make the city _look_ good… NEXT!"

As the first applicant left, the next applicant took his place and drew his circle. However, he didn't even make it to the next part, as the transmutation wasn't complete. He looked down at his hands as the faint blue light died out, stunned by what he didn't see. The process was followed by an emphatic and callous, "NEXT!"

The process of attempt, failure, next, attempt, success, backfire, repeat, continued until there were only two applicants left, Jeff and the man that harassed him yesterday.

"So, kid. It looks like you and I are the last ones who have a shot at becoming State Alchemists," the man said, looking at Jeff with a smile of arrogance. "Don't get your hopes up, though. _I'm_ going to be the State Alchemist, and you're just gonna stand there and watch as they give me the title!"

"NEXT!"

The man stepped forward and placed his circle on the ground. Slowly, the transmutation was gathering in a large amount of ground area from around the circle, gathering its shape. The final product was a very large structure, around 40 feet high, that looked like a fortress.

"NOW _THIS_ IS A TRANSMUTATION!" the man shouted from atop the structure.

Many of the judges, including the Fuhrer, were stunned in admiration at the most pleasing applicant of the day, creating a structure that could be used as a defense against assailants. Arturo glanced back at Jeff, giving a smirk.

_You better not disappoint me, Kid…_

"Alright, you can come down now." Bradley called to the man atop the huge fortress, "we have to let the last applicant go,"

"Not a problem," the man said as he redrew the circle.

Jeff stepped forward and pulled his circle out of his pocket, preparing for his chance.

"I've gotta calm down. If I think too much and don't relax, I won't have a chance of completing this," Jeff thought, preparing himself. He looked up at the structure once more, but he saw something was off.

As the man began his transmutation, he neglected to add a line into the circle in his arrogance and the structure started to collapse, rather than reverse.

"Huh?"

As a loud cracking resounded through the testing area, the mighty fortress started to crumble. "What's going on? GAH!"

The structure began breaking at his feet, bit by bit, piece by piece. He looked down, and realized that if he were to fall, he would be killed.

"HELP ME!" he shouted desperately, his hands and mind frozen with fear.

Jeff looked up and wondered how he could help. With quick thinking, he glanced down at the paper in his hand, realizing what he had to do. Even if the formula was incomplete, he had to try _anything_ to save this arrogant douchebag.

Jeff ran towards the forested section of the testing area and pressed the paper up against one of the trees.

"Right now, I need the impossible to start existing," he thought as his transmutation began to glow bright green, signifying the beginnings of his transmutation.

As the transmutation developed, the rune on his hand started to glow green along with the paper. Jeff saw this and realized that the formula was missing the runes as an extra variable.

_If this works, I'll analyze it later; but now, I need to save that guy!_

The tree began compressing and wrapping itself around Jeff's torso. The judges' attention was drawn away from the collapsing structure to the green glow of Jeff's transmutation. Some were in shock and some were shaking their heads when they saw the possibility of a failed attempt at an impossible transmutation. Arturo just leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head, eager to see what the kid had in store.

The transmutation finished and the tree had become a tangled web of vines in the shape of wings. The way the vines had been formed appeared as if the wings were sprouting from Jeff's back.

"Let's hope this works," Jeff mumbled to himself. Transmuting the air currents around him, he changed the air pressure beneath the wings, creating a wind that caught them and lifted him up into the air. The entire time, the runes on his hands glowed brilliantly as the wind caught the wings, carrying him to the top of the structure.

The man looked towards Jeff and was shocked to see the kid he was making fun of floating in front of him with an outstretched hand.

"Grab my hand if you want to live," Jeff said, his voice firm.

The man hesitated for a moment, but grabbed Jeff's hand and closed his eyes, waiting eagerly for the moment where his feet would touch the ground.

"Relax. Otherwise you'll fall, and God knows I wouldn't mind that…" Jeff muttered to the man. Everyone in the area watched as the structure collapsed in a large cloud of dust and smoke, disappearing as grandly as it had appeared.

All of the judges were in awe of the sight of Jeff flying over 40 feet in the air, and as the pair returned to the ground, the judges grinned.

"Well, now that all the applicants are finished, we'll go and discuss our findings," The Fuhrer said.

Jeff nodded, bowing respectfully to them.

The man looked over at Jeff, his pride obviously dented, but once he had gained his courage back, he looked at the younger alchemist.

"Hey… uh… thanks kid… I guess I owe you one…," he said, reaching out a hand for a handshake.

Jeff smiled.

"Yeah… no problem…" He said as he shook the man's hand and watched as he walked out of the testing area.

Arturo watched as the man left. He smirked in his usual, arrogant way, and patted Jeff hard on the shoulder, making him wince.

"Not bad, Jeff…Not bad…" he said, as he went to leave with the other judges.


	4. 4 Hunting Nothing

(Note: I don't own FMA, only Jeff and Aurum. Wolfborg007 owns Arturo.)

**Chapter 4**

"**Hunting Nothing"**

Jeff hovered towards the ground, gently placing the other applicant on the dusty floor of the testing room before landing himself. He placed his hand on one of the wings, and the runes on his hands glowed brightly, the wings compressed down and reverted to a handful of seeds.

He looked over at everyone who had watched him fly. He saw a sea of faces that were dumbfounded; except for Arturo, who wore his usual smirk.

Jeff looked down at the seeds, beamed with a kind of satisfaction and put them in his pocket. As he busied himself with the transmutation, he didn't notice the Fuhrer had opened his eye and was staring at Jeff with a look of suspicion.

_This boy, he is going to be trouble if we let him continue doing as he wants. He was able to do an impossible technique, he could wreck all the years of planning. Damn that Zero; this is why I don't like leaving tasks to humans,_ the Fuhrer thought, leaning back in his chair. _If I pass him, he'll just become a nuisance; but if I don't, some of the ignorant officers will question things…_

However, before anything could be noticed, the Fuhrer quickly put on his cheerful façade. "Well, I believe that we have come to a decision. Congratulations, Mr. Kaiser. You are now a State Alchemist."

Jeff turned to the judges and, even though he was almost bursting with joy, he managed to contain himself as he silently bowed in gratitude. Inside his mind, he was going crazy; it was enough to keep him in great spirits for the rest of his life, and for the rest of the week, he relived that moment over and over, grinning like a fool the whole time.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

((**2 weeks later**))

Jeff was assigned to move in with Arturo in the barracks; much to Arturo's chagrin. He got over it after the first few days, when Arturo realized that Jeff was a neat freak, except for his desk.

"Hey Arturo, my pocket-watch and official state certification letter just got in," Jeff said excitedly, entering the room.

"Big whoop, you're acting like this is the first time it's ever happened," Arturo replied nonchalantly from his desk in the corner of the room.

"Can you be a little _less_ excited for me? I finally got my Alchemist title and you're practically grabbing the letter out of my hand," Jeff said, attempted sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"You still need some work with your sarcasm, but I can't work miracles. Just open the letter."

Jeff opened the letter, and he began reading it aloud.

"Under the authority of Fuhrer King Bradley, the name 'Angel Alchemist' will be granted to Jeffrey Kaiser…" He shut his eyes tightly after reading the last line.

_What was the Furhrer __**THINKING?**__! That's such a-a __girl's__ name! How on earth are people gonna take me serious with a name like __that?_

This thoughts then turned to his roomate's reaction…

_Dammit…_

Slowly, he turned to look towards Arturo, carefully opening one eye, afraid of his reaction. Just as he expected, a snicker emerged from Arturo's lips, and the older alchemist was obviously trying to hold back laughter… but he failed miserably.

"ANGEL ALCHEMIST!" he laughed, putting a hand to his forehead, "I guess that was the only way they could even _try_ to make you sound cool; and they FAILED! You-you might as well be called the '_Bend-Me-Over-Alchemist!'_"

Arturo continued laughing; relishing in the humiliation of his young roommate.

"B-but seriously! What was the Fuhrer _thinking_ with that kind of a name? Is he out to get me?" Jeff asked gripping his head in disbelief, still clutching the letter tightly in his right hand.

"All I know is that _Angel_ is one of the _worst_ names for you; considering you act so much like a little _bitch_ already… and you're essentially a demon all the other times!" Arturo spoke through his laughter.

"Are you _done_?" Jeff asked, rolling his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, never. I may stop laughing, but I'll _never_ stop enjoying this," Arturo said, finally calming down.

"Well, back to the matter at hand…" he muttered, " I'm now a State Alchemist, so I can get into the Central Library and do all the research I can on Zero and Runes,"

He folded up the letter and put the silver-watch in his pocket.

"Yeah, speaking about the Runes, you _still_ have to tell me about them," Arturo reminded him, matter-of-factly.

"No time, the library is going to be closing in a little while. I want to get this done today," Jeff said, rushing out the door without another word.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"Alright, let's see here…Zero Medea, better known as the 'Null-Void Alchemist'. It says here that he was a State Alchemist who achieved the rank of Colonel before he was dishonorably discharged from the military for conspiring against the State," Jeff read to himself, using his index finger to trace the line as he read.

He paused in his reading as he came across a few lines that captured his interest in the military records.

"_This_ is weird…" Jeff thought, scratching his head, "It says that he never had any history of killing outside of his orders, yet after he was discharged from the military, he has become one of the most wanted criminals for killing several known alchemists."

_I wonder if they had anything in common…_

Standing up, Jeff went over and, after scanning the shelves of all the records, he found what he was looking for and grabbed the record of the people that Zero had killed. As he went down the list, he noticed the victims were all people he had met when he was younger. But his eyes widened as he came to the bottom of the list… because it was there that he found the familiar names of his parents. He took a shuddering breath as his eyes wandered to the runes on the back of his right hand… the cold reminder of his ruined childhood.

"Perhaps I should research this circle, maybe that will give me an answer to why he killed my family," Jeff said quietly to himself.

He searched the shelves once again, until he found a book on unorthodox transmutation circles. Flipping through the pages, he came across a circle that resembled the one on his hand.

His eyes darted between the picture and his own hand, just making sure that he had the right one, down to the smallest detail of the circle.

In alchemy, details were always important… if one millimeter was off, it could backfire and cause the wrong reaction… which had a whole plethora of bad consequences.

"This _looks_ like the circle, but it's made up differently."

After flipping the page, he began reading about that particular circle.

"This circle…it's an emblem to a tower. 'The Sorcerer Tower is a legend that nobody has been able to prove, although many archaeologists have fervently searched for it. The tower is said to lie beneath the ground at the cross-point of the four Southwestern caverns.' That's weird, if it's _that_ easy to find, then why hasn't it been found?" Jeff asked himself curiously.

The young state alchemist gave a sigh, leaned back in his chair, and caught a glimpse of the list of victims. Sitting up straight, he glanced over the list once again and was hit with the realization that each of the victims had been close to one of the caverns.

"Maybe there _is_ something to this legend after all," Jeff said, absolutely intrigued.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"So…you're going to the Southwestern area… which, by the way, is the size of Ishval, to look for _one_ guy, who has most likely moved on?" Arturo questioned skeptically.

"Are you going to come along or not?" Jeff asked, shoving some canned food and more water bottles into his backpack.

"Hmm…" Arturo thought to himself, tapping his lips lightly with his index finger as he pondered the idea, "Go to an area where _nothing_ exciting happens, except for murder in order to help you do the same…"

Jeff lowered his gaze slightly.

"Fine, _don't_ come along then... I guess you'll _never_ learn about Runes," Jeff said with a sigh, "Especially if I don't come back from this _dangerous_ mission…"

Arturo twitched slightly as he started to become extremely agitated. He still hadn't kept up _his _part of the bargain, and he didn't like being tugged around like some mutt on a short rope…even if he _did_ become a state alchemist.

"Well, I could always ask that _cousin_ of yours to help me; you know the one who you're always talking about. Maybe I could even tell him what you _really_ think of him; I'm sure helping to catch a mass murderer would help him-"

Arturo let out a small growl,

"Fine… you're gonna need some extra ears to gather the information anyway…" he muttered, "It'll take you years to get all of it, and you may even be useful to me at some point… I'll tag along…"

Jeff grinned satisfied, knowing full well how to tug his partner's strings. He was obviously pissed, but he knew Arturo… he'd get over it.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

They took the train to the West, where they were met with miles of forest.

Arturo gave a sigh, suddenly regretting the decision to leave his cushy office in Central command (and the women… oh, he missed the women already) to go on a man hunt.

"Let's go!" Jeff said, immediately taking off without any hesitation.

Arturo gave a sigh, just following after him…already sweating from the heat.

Three days passed, and all they saw were trees.

Jeff's eyes widened as he saw the shimmering shape of a village emerging in the horizon.

"Hey! There's a village over there!" Jeff exclaimed joyfully, "Come on, we can restock up on our supplies and maybe get some more information!"

The younger alchemist continued plodding through the dirt, with Arturo following beside him.

He just wanted to rest… he didn't share his friend's enthusiasm for this whole trek… but he didn't want his cousin out of the tavern just yet.

_There's no way in hell Little Roy is ready for something like this…_ he thought to himself.

As they entered the village, Jeff spotted a man wiping down the counter of a nearby food vendor.

"Maybe _he _can tell us anything about Zero!" he said, walking over to the salesman.

The man looked up, his blond hair blowing in the breeze.

"Can I help you, kid?" he asked.

"We're wondering if you have any information about a guy named _Zero_… he's an alchemist… one for the State… could you tell me if you've maybe _seen _him?" Jeff asked.

"Well, about a week ago, there was a drifter wandering around the village. People would ask him what he was doing, but even though he didn't say too much, he told them he was an archaeologist researching the old cavern nearby," the man replied.

Jeff's enthusiasm seemed to grow and he smiled.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful," he said, bowing his head in gratitude.

They then walked off further into the depths of the village.

"You _really_ need to stop bowing your head all the time. The more you do that, the more guys will think you're checking them out or something," Arturo said to Jeff.

"Stop being such a jerk…" Jeff retorted with an angry gaze, "That guy gave us the information we needed, and it only took us three days,"

"Yeah, well, the sooner we get to the cavern, the sooner _you_ tell _me_ about Runes. I didn't expect you to dodge important issues or… you know…a _DEBT_!" Arturo snapped.

"I'm getting to it; if I just tell you right now, you'd think I'm crazy," Jeff retorted.

Arturo gave a snort.

"Too late for that…" Arturo muttered.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

The two wandered through the nearby woods, not realizing that the map the townsperson gave them was written backwards.

"We're getting close, right?" Arturo said as he felt his temper become strained again.

"I have a feeling that someone got the wrong map," Jeff said glancing back at Arturo.

He glared daggers at him as he silently blamed the older alchemist for getting a flawed map.

Just as they were staring each other down in a standoff, a man appeared from the foliage and approached them.

"You two lost?" the man inquired, looking between them.

Jeff and Arturo turned towards the man and gave a synchronized nod.

"My name is Aurum. If you two are looking for the town, I'd be glad to help you reach it. I'm headed that way myself."

"We're _actually_ trying to get to the old cavern," Jeff said to Aurum. "We're searching for someone named Zero… _Supposedly,_ he was seen near the cavern a week ago, and we're looking for clues."

Aurum's cheery disposition melted at the instant Jeff mentioned the name Zero. Without warning, he lunged at the two alchemists, his hands open and outstretched in front of him. Arturo reacted quickly getting in-between Aurum and Jeff. Aurum's palm hit Arturo's forehead, to which Arturo quickly leaned in and forced his fist into the man's gut, making him fall to the ground.

"Just who _are_ you?" Jeff asked as he stepped back in cautious surprise.

Arturo raised his hand to Jeff, silencing him.

The pair watched as Aurum slowly got to his feet and put his hands behind his back. He smiled and looking up, he spoke calmly.

"I'm nothing more than a traveling hypnotist."

At that, Arturo turned around quickly snapped his fingers, causing a large bolt of lightning to fly in Jeff's direction. With the impact of the blue bolt of electricity, smoke rose and a purple rune started to glow on Arturo's forehead, pulsing lightly.


	5. 5 Angel & Demon

(Note: I don't own FMA or Arturo, only Jeff and Aurum. Also note that this chapter is going to be gory and will have adult language in it.)

**Chapter 5**

"**Angel and Demon"**

Arturo and Aurum stood looking at the rising dust and smoke where Arturo's bolt had hit. Arturo's eyes had gone hazy, as he was staring blankly at the smoke seemingly unaware that _he _was the cause of the clouds rising from the ground.

Jeff leapt from the dusty clouds and stood where he landed, stunned that his friend had actually _attacked_ him.

"What's _wrong_ with you, Arturo? You do _remember _that we need to find that cavern!" Jeff shouted.

"You're wasting your breath, kid." Aurum scoffed, "He has been hypnotized by my power,"

Jeff, once again glanced back at Arturo. He noticed a faint light emerging from his partner's forehead that his eyes had overlooked before… it pulsed lightly and he quickly realized that it was a rune designed to bend a person's mentality.

"So, you used that rune to take control of Arturo's mind," Jeff said partially to himself, processing the information.

"To be specific…" Aurum said smugly, "I used the rune to lock off a portion of his mind and soul. He's no longer able to recognize his friends or allies, making him into a ruthless killing machine."

He broke off into a crazed laughter that sent a shiver down Jeff's spine.

He then paused, gathering himself with a vague breath and then turned his attentions back to Jeff.

"But enough about him… How do you know about runes?" Aurum inquired, his curiosity gleaming.

"How do you _think_?" Jeff replied, displaying the back of his hands.

Aurum looked stunned for a moment when he saw the runes on Jeff's hands.

"_How_…? M-Master Zero said that he got _rid_ of everyone else who knew about Runes a-a year ago," he stammered.

"Well, for a former State Alchemist, he seems to miss some important details…" Jeff muttered, getting tired of this guy's crap.

"Now, release Arturo from your control!" Jeff snarled.

Aurum smirked at the boy's naivety.

_Does he __really__ think he'd have a chance against __me__? Even if he defeats me, Master Zero has __thousands__ of powerful alchemists under his control and loyalty! _

"Sorry… but you'll interfere with Zero's plans to raise the Tower. I _can't_ let you live… Besides, even if you _somehow _managed to free your friend, you would have attacked already. The power of Runes is formed by a link between multiple circles. It must be broken by the alchemist themselves or completely destroyed, and _I certainly_ won't break it until you're dead!" Aurum snapped in retort.

At those words, Arturo snapped his fingers again. Jeff dodged the incoming bolt as fast as he could, nearly being scraped by it. Snaps filled their air like wild firecrackers every time Jeff managed to move.

_The bastard is aiming for my legs!_ Jeff realized picking himself up again and scrambling away from another cloud of dust, just as another bolt hit the ground at his feet.

Clouds of smoke rose up from the ground as the bolts continued to fly. Arturo, his rank of Colonel finally showing itself as he struck a larger streak of electricity towards the center of the cloud, foggy as it was, to catch Jeff off guard.

Unbeknownst to Arturo, Jeff had used the second of blind sight he had to transmute his wings and he rose out of the dust as the bolt reached him. The runes on his hands pulsed with a bright green color.

As he reached the top of the trees, seemingly out of reach, he looked down at Arturo and Aurum. He scuffled through his pack, and after grabbing a seed from his bag, he prepared to transmute it into a sword. Arturo, the glazed, controlled gaze in his eyes, looked up and with a snap of his fingers, fired a bolt that burned a hole into Jeff's right wing.

Jeff instantly felt a shift in the wind current as his wings found themselves no longer able to hold his weight. He flapped his wings in an almost cartoonish manner though he continued his gravitational course towards the ground, feet first. Suddenly, he felt a painful pull in his leg as his foot snagged a branch, sending him into a headfirst dive. Thinking fast, he pulled another seed and reached up, repairing his wing and just before he hit the ground, he spread his wing-span and went into a horizontal soar, on a direct path towards his partner.

Arturo's gaze, previously airborne, jerked forward in an almost robotic manner as he focused in on his opponent. His fingers snapped, sending bolts of lightning towards him, but with swift, fluidic movements, Jeff dodged them. When the young alchemist was within an arms' reach, he changed his path and started circling his opponent. Like a vulture, he circled above their heads, as cradled the seed in his hand gently, as the runes on his hands glowed. With a whip-like snap, the vines that grew from the small seed, wrapped around Arturo in a spiral, binding him from the waist up, pinning his hands where he was unable to create the necessary friction for the electricity.

Jeff flew out of the vortex of vines and wind, hovering gently above the ground, he faced Aurum.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked breathlessly.

"Because, _you_ are interfering with Master Zero's work. If his plan to use the power of the Rune Tower is tampered with in _any_ way, he will _not_ be happy," Aurum said.

"His plan to do _what_!" Jeff yelped, his eyes instantly dilated.

"I have said too much." Aurum said, though his voice was calm, there was a hint of nervousness in it, "I, unfortunately, have to kill you." He quickly moved over to Arturo and savagely ripped the vines away.

Arturo, still in his mindless rage, quickly returned snapped a bolt directly between Jeff's eyes. Jeff, his mind elsewhere, didn't dodge the blow. With a yelp of pain, he fell to the ground and his eyes glazed over in shock… his forehead burned, the surrounding skin tingling painfully.

Jeff heard deep footsteps in the gravel coming towards him as Arturo took this moment to bend down, his hands tightly clasped around Jeff's neck. Jeff winced as he felt Arturo's thumbs press into the bottom of his throat, digging into his skin, nearly puncturing it, but cutting off his windpipe. He struggled underneath Arturo's strong grip as the lack of oxygen caused his mind to clear. Curling his legs, he managed to bring them underneath Arturo, kicking him backward. The Colonel stumbled and fell back against a nearby tree behind him.

As Jeff gasped for air, he felt his mind pull back within itself.

_Move over, __pussy__._ He heard Resiak growl from within the depths of his brain. Jeff, unaware of what else to do, allowed the demon to take over.

Resiak stood up, now in control of the body. His gaze dissolved into a dark glare as he began to seethe through his fiendish grin.

Arturo picked himself up, despite being bruised, he was unfazed by what had just happened and raised his hands, his index and middle fingers pressed together and ready for another barrage of electricity. All Aurum saw of this confrontation were random flashes of black, green, and blue as the pair exchanged attacks back and forth, back and forth. With a fierce dodge of another bolt of controlled lightning, Resiak from a crouched stance, suddenly rushed forward with inhuman speed and landed a fierce blow to Arturo's head and chest, knocking him out.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" Aurum gasped. It was his turn to be the one in shock at the boy's complete and frightening transformation.

"Your Master created me when he killed my parents and I'm sorry to say that you are now in the worst possible place to be," Resiak said, the evil just _dripping_ from his voice.

"_Actually_, who the fuck am _I_ kidding? I'm not _sorry_! You walked right into it!" Resiak said with screeching laughter that caused Aurum to cringe with his hands over his ears and tears of pain to push against his closed eyelids.

Resiak made his way over to the man, crippled with fear, as his lips pulled back into a dark hybrid of a smirk and a sneer.

"Wh-what? Wh-why?" Aurum said; his tone trembling unsteadily as his eyes shone with tears and a genuine fear. He had forgotten his loyalty. Resiak practically drank from his eyes, devouring the fear with a degree of satisfaction that only a demon would appreciate.

"Only a _true_ dumbass would think about facing a plant alchemist…," Resiak said casually, as he placed his hand on the bark of a nearby tree, leaning against it. The tree instantly glowed green as it slowly warped into a wall of thorns, that twisted and morphed with other surrounding trees creating an entrapment of the spikes all leaning towards Aurum "…in a _forest_."

Aurum looked around for a place to run, only to find that there was none and like the broken man he was, he bit back a child-like sob. He knew death was upon him. He looked back at Resiak, who had hunched himself over; as if he were a lion stalking his prey. Aurum shut his eyes, realizing that if he made eye contact, it would all be over.

Resiak began growling; embodying the demon that those who knew of him had come to see him as. In one swift motion, he moved his body directly behind Aurum's. He made sure to stay still until Aurum realized he was there.

Aurum couldn't handle the suspense and he opened his eyes just enough to squint.

_Why hasn't he struck yet? _

Through his narrow field of vision, he only saw the wall of thorns in front of him. He gave a sigh of relief.

_He must be gone…_

However, the feeling of being watched lingered on the back of his shoulder and he found himself too afraid to turn around. Falling to his hands and knees, he pulled his fingers in towards his palms, pulling dust, dirt and small stones into his fist. He released a quick gasp when he felt something was dangerously close to his aura and getting closer. A hand crossed into his field of vision and all he could do was _scream_.

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"Ugh… stupid sun…" Arturo groaned as orange flashed over eyes.

Despite their sensitivity, his eyes fluttered, but still remained shut, keeping away from the burning sunlight. His head was in too much pain for him to even _think_ about opening his eyes.

Arturo tried to sit up, putting his arms behind him, but they shuddered and gave out on him and he groaned.

"Where'd this hangover come from?" he asked himself. He couldn't remember a damn thing about how he ended up on the ground, nor why he hurt all over… perhaps Roy was driving again… that boy _really _needed to learn how to use his break correctly….

It was then that he felt a sticky hand on his diaphragm; and a shot of cold realization ran through him when he sensed it was a masculine one. He closed his eyes tighter, praying to whatever God he could.

"Please let it be what it looks like," Arturo begged mentally as he turned his head and opened one eye. It wasn't what he thought.

On the ground where a person should have been, there was nothing but a lake of crimson, seeping into the thirsty ground all around him. The metallic smell of iron slithered into his nostrils as his eyes adjusted, taking in more of his surroundings, trying to piece together the source of the carnage. He sat up quickly in surprise. From the center of the bloody patch he spotted a dismembered and bloodied arm, tendons hanging from it like loose strings and a pointed streak of white emerged from the center. Arturo stared at it, feeling disgusted and shocked yet slightly fascinated and relieved. It had been a long time since he had seen a cadaver. The skin was peeled back like birch bark and folded over limply with small rivers of blood coming from the cuts that were punctured into it. The hand itself laid on the lapel of his uniform, the fingers still and sickly. As his eyes drifted from the arm, he saw that he was surrounded by a mass of warped wood and scratched earth… all of it, covered and splattered with dripping red.

As his brain finally caught up with him, fear shot through him as he wondered _whose_ arm it actually was.

_Where's the kid?_

He glanced around quickly, and off to the side, he saw the hunched over, demonic form of Resiak. He was breathing deeply, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath. His eyes were focused over standing over what looked to be half of the head of a rather familiar person.

The sight of the remains brought a sudden rush of bile into Arturo's throat and he coughed, practically choking on it. The man's brains leaked out onto the ground, water and blood pouring from one side of his head. The hair was completely ripped out by the roots. But the most disturbing part of the remains was the horrified, wide-eyed expression that was plastered onto the man's face. His jaw was wide open and frozen with a silent scream that would forever be etched into Arturo's mind. Blood dripped into the man's mouth from his crushed skull. From the man's eyes were salty trails… the man had been crying and screaming as he met his end. The cruelty of this murder unsettled Arturo's stomach once again, as the unnatural salty taste of saliva made its way back into his mouth, but he was able to swallow it and keep his stomach under control.

Resiak, who had been watching Arturo the entire time broke into a sadistic smile that was hidden by the shadows of what used to be a tree. Arturo couldn't help but think that he appeared like that strange cat in a novel he had read during his childhood… a book that escaped his current mind state.

After laying the arm carefully next to him, he stood up. The stickiness of his uniform made him wince in disgust as his entire back was drenched and dripping with the deceased man's blood. He heard it drip…drip…drip… down the hem of his uniform top and the edges of his, usually blue, pants, rejoining the lake. It took a moment for Arturo to regain his composure, but as he did, he quickly as he snapped his fingers once, sending a bolt aimed straight at the demon's forehead.

Jeff clicked back into perspective, a dazed, startled look emerging from his young features. He looked around him, wondering what happened to all of the trees. Too stunned to speak, he looked down at a bloody pile of flesh that resembled a face looking up at him with that horrid, tear-filled scream. He recognized, with a gasp, that it was part of Aurum, the Hypnotist, that he had battled before. His body went numb and frightened of what he might find, he looked down at his own blood-stained body and gave a scream of pure agony over what he had just begun to realize that he had done.

He quickly leaned against one of the tree remains and vomited.

Arturo looked at him with a certain degree of pity.

Obviously, the kid hadn't numbed up yet… Nevertheless, being a state alchemist and soldier would fix that…

Jeff, felt sicker than ever and as he spotted Arturo, he shot his friend an apologetic glance, and fell to the ground, his legs giving in from under him. He carefully made sure to turn away from the head. He couldn't look at it anymore.

Soft sobs suddenly escaped from the boy's lips as he pulled his knees into his trembling, heaving chest.

Arturo knelt down and put an arm around his partner's shoulders.

The pair stayed there for a moment. Arturo couldn't find anything to say as the words were jammed into his throat.

Jeff, however, just cried, repeating his words over and over again.

"I never meant for this to happen…"


	6. 6 A Debt Repaid

(Note: I don't own FMA. I don't own Arturo either, he belongs to Wolfborg007. I own Jeff and Zero.)

**Chapter 6**

"**A Debt Repaid"**

Arturo watched silently as Jeff sobbed through his silent, futile apologies for a good half hour.

He gave a sigh, only lost in his own thoughts, as he had led Jeff away from the bloodbath.

_I know that we have to be ready to face death, but I doubt even the Fuhrer would keep his cool in this situation_ Arturo thought to himself.

Jeff finally broke his mantra by saying, "Arturo," He paused to sniffle. "What did I do?"

Arturo looked down at his partner, unable to lie about the difficult truth. He looked too much like his own cousin when he looked like that.

"I'm sorry, but you _did _do this… or rather that _demon _of yours. I don't remember anything between meeting that guy and seeing his remains scattered about, but _he_ was involved."

"I need to know more about him. Wh-why he did…this," Jeff said, wiping his eyes and looking back at the remains of what was once Aurum's head; feeling any nutrients he had in his stomach leave forcefully.

"Let's head towards the cave; it's what we came here for, right?" Arturo said, leading Jeff away from the carnage and trying to keep his friend's mind off the suffering he caused.

"Alright…" Jeff said, trying to stand up. He took one more look around at what Resiak had done. He was frightened as to how much power one alchemist could have, and what _little _he could do to control it…

_A monster… that's exactly what he was. _

It had been Arturo took charge and realized that the map had been upside-down. He led them back to the correct path and he estimated the cave would be close by.

The silence was extremely uncomfortable as Arturo looked at the map and surroundings, only to look back at Jeff, who was walking with his head still in his hands. He was still fighting to get the horrid images out of his mind… but he knew there was nothing he could do… they'd be there forever.

Arturo, getting tired of the awkward silence, decided it was time to clear the air. "Alright Jeff, I guess it's time you learned about yourself."

Jeff looked up, with a distraught look suddenly appearing on his face like a mask.

Arturo took a deep breath.

"Well, after checking your biographical records, I'm making the assumption that, after witnessing the murder of your family, you simply developed a Multiple Personality Disorder." He said, matter-of-factly, "It's quite common really. After I had seen him for the first time, he told me that his name was…'Resiak'… yeah, that's it! He's your complete opposite… a ruthless killing machine."

Jeff looked awe-struck as Arturo informed him about his other persona… How he tried to kill Arturo and how Arturo used his alchemy to set his brain straight…

All of it made his head spin.

"Without any memories of what happened during the fight with that hypnotist, I can't really tell you anything else. All I know about him is that he's a monster wearing your skin," Arturo finished, "It's quite interesting, really."

"Wow…" Jeff breathed, still trying to take it all in, "I wonder if I could make contact with him inside my mind. M-maybe he could be helpful…i-instead of murderous!"

"I don't _care_ about all that…_Besides_, it's a stupid idea… _Anyway,_ you've put it off long enough. I want to hear about _runes_," Arturo said sharply.

"But we're _here_," Jeff said, still trying to avoid repaying his debt, as he scrambled further into the cave.

"DAMNIT JEFF!" Arturo yelled after his partner as he quickened his pace to catch up with him.

The cave wasn't very large; made up of only two rooms and a short tunnel connecting them. They started looking around, but it became too dark to see anything. Arturo could _still _hear his voice bouncing off the walls.

"How the hell are we supposed to see _anything_ in here? I can't find what we're looking for," Arturo said, reaching his hands out to feel about the damp, calcite walls.

_Dammit… I wish Roy was here… __he __could get us some light in this __freakin'__ place…_

"Hey! I think I've got an idea!" he heard Jeff's voice say from somewhere in front of him.

Arturo squinted, trying to make out his friend's shadow in the near distance.

"What?" he questioned, growing annoyed with this quest.

"When I say so, aim a bolt about…um…15 inches above my hand rune," Jeff said.

"But I can't _see _anything!" Arturo complained, "If you haven't _noticed_… It's really freakin' dark in here…"

Jeff gave a sigh.

"Okay, fine… when you see my hands start to glow, that's when you shoot the bolt, okay? Is _that _better?"

Arturo gave a smirk and nodded.

"Yep…_much _better." He replied.

Jeff then gave an exasperated sigh, and his hands started to glow as he began his transmutation. "Ok… now!"

Arturo snapped his fingers and shot a blue wisp of electricity right above Jeff's hands and the area instantly sparked and erupted into flames. The torch that Jeff created illuminated the entire area. The first room had nothing of interest, so without hesitation, they went through the tunnel to the next room.

Arturo looked around quickly.

"Well, this room looks like the first one…" he muttered tiredly.

"It looks like there's nothing-"

"Hey look at this!" Jeff said, rushing to the side of the room, wide-eyed, still carrying the torch.

There was a rune engraved on the wall of the room. Jeff stood in front of the wall, staring at the small carved symbol with a distinct intensity.

"I-I think I've _seen _this one before…" he said, mostly to himself, "In one of my dad's books…"

Arturo gave a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what you say about _every_ rune that you see, but do you really _mean_ it?" he muttered.

_God I'm gonna need a drink after this… _

Jeff took several more seconds to examine it.

"I remember it now!" he chirped, his eyes dilating, "Th-this is the rune to symbolize the Tower," He stared at it for a few more seconds, making sure that he was able to remember as much of it as he could, "We have to get to the nearest library; Aurum mentioned the Tower when I was fighting him!"

As Jeff turned to go out of the cave, Arturo grabbed him quickly by the collar. He was tired, hungry, and getting tired of all this procrastination. Pulling Jeff up to his face level by the collar, he glared at his comrade, his blue eyes focused and determined.

"That's enough Jeff! You've dodged repaying me long enough! We have been traveling for _three days_. I want to know about runes _right now_, or _you're_ gonna to become the new light for this cave!" Arturo snarled.

Jeff gasped, as genuine fear made its way into his trembling eyes. He knew the Colonel well enough to be frightened of the older alchemist… even though they hadn't known each other for long… but there were certain things that he couldn't be sure about…

Whether or not he'd murder was _one_ of those things.

He squirmed, trying to get out of his ally's grip.

"A-alright, S-sir…" he stammered, trying to swallow his nerves, "I-I guess there'd be no rush to the library, right?"

Arturo looked at him intensely, and lowered him to the ground slowly.

"B-besides… I owe you an explanation and it _would _be helpful if you knew about them…" Jeff continued.

"Took you _that _long to figure it out, huh?" Arturo asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger alchemist, "So go on… _explain it _to me."

Jeff nodded, beginning his explanation.

"Well, uh…R-runes are, in simple terms, ancient transmutation circles, and the Fourth Type of Alchemy. Y'know how there are three different kinds of alchemy; Amestrian, Xingese, and the forgotten Xerxes alchemy? The simplest way to put it is that Runes are a fourth kind of alchemy," he started. He paused, waiting for a reaction. When Arturo did nothing, the young alchemist continued.

Arturo responded, asking the occasional question when appropriate… but for the most part, he listened… taking in what he could, and applying it to the information he already knew from his experiences as a State Alchemist.

It made theoretical sense, sure… he'd explored Jeff's father's research… not an excessive amount of times, but a decent amount to grasp the main ideas… but as Jeff continued speaking, he managed to piece together _some _things that he hadn't read or thought about.

Another part of him wanted to test the kid… just to see what he knew… Sure, he passed the exam… but he always _loved _testing younger alchemists for one thing… He smirked, thinking of his younger cousin.

_Yep… Roy is the reason for all of this…_

"So that's why you did an impossible transmutation," Arturo said, urging him on like a teacher.

"Uh-huh…In order for a rune to do its best work, a _second circle_ needs to be present. Not _all_ of the transmutations require two circles, but the more powerful ones do. The hypnosis that was used to control you was one of them. My plant manipulations are augmented because I have runes on _both_ of my hands."

"But plant alchemy _exists_," Arturo pointed out.

"Well, there's a _difference _between plant _alchemy_ and plant _runistry_. The most prominent difference is the rune's ability to change the form of the plants; like changing it from seed to vine to bark and back again. It can also transfer life energy from plants to humans for healing purposes; like with what my mother did before she was killed. Alchemy doesn't go into as much depth… with _plants _anyway...I can't be too sure about other kinds of alchemy…"

Arturo gave a nod, taking in the information. He then let his mind continue on.

"So what's all this about the Rune Tower?" Arturo inquired.

"Uh… I-I think it's supposed to have a special rune on the top floor that can augment all runic abilities. _My_ guess is that the rune transmutations put less strain on a person's soul; allowing for more potent transmutations. This makes Zero _all the more_ dangerous. His powers are destructive enough without access to more potency. I don't know how he did some of the things he did when he murdered my parents, but I don't think that it was simple rune usage. He must be combining alchemy with runes to fire those beam attacks that he used to kill. _That's_ why we have to stop him." Jeff finished.

"Okay… I get what your saying… but what does _any of this_ have to do with this freakin' cave?" Arturo asked.

"Um… well, have _two_ choices… Either we can go to the Tower Site, or go to the library and find out if there's anything that can be useful to face Zero," Jeff suggested.

"You just told me that the world is in danger and you're stopping to ask a _stupid_ question?" Arturo said, lowering his gaze only as _he_ could.

Arturo walked over to where Jeff was standing and firmly slapped him in the back of the head.

"OW!"

"You really have to ask yourself that? Is the smart, sensible one Resiak or _you_?" Arturo asked with an annoyed tone.

"Ok, ok. Let's go to the Tower," Jeff said, rubbing his head painfully.

"Good answer."

~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~

"So, if Zero is supposed to have legions of followers, where _are_ they? Shouldn't they be guarding the general area?" Jeff asked.

He stretched out, glancing backwards at Arturo who held a guitar in his lap and a leather-bound book on the grass beside him, full of scribbling that Jeff couldn't even _begin _to decipher.

It had been a day since they had begun their quest to find the Tower, and already Jeff's feet were killing him.

Arturo seemed unfazed, but rather focused in the music he was playing.

"Uh, hello?" Jeff said, sitting up, trying to get Arturo's attention.

"If you go about this with a military mindset, you'd _think _that… but psychos are different… _unpredictable_… and the closest thing we have to _any _kind of psycho is that _demon _of yours." Arturo replied calmly, though the suddenness of his voice made Jeff jump.

"I wish I could talk to him. You know…Maybe to work things out," Jeff said to himself, his tone almost childish.

Arturo rolled his eyes as he put his pen in the center of his book, closed it and gave a stretched sigh.

"Okay… let's get _one thing _straight…The next time you have one of those '_ooh, talking will solve it'_ moments, _hit yourself_."

Jeff looked at him, both startled and offended.

"Uh, _excuse me_?"

"You heard me, kid…Yer not going to affect Resiak's thinking if you act like a _little girl_. You need to _force_ him to understand you. I know that's difficult for you, being such a whiny _bitch_, but that's the only way," Arturo said, matter-of-factly. He added, "If you don't use force, another Aurum incident _will_ occur, don't think it won't."

Even though it seemed like it happened _ages _ago, the memory of that horrid sight was enough to curdle the food in Jeff's stomach again and weaken his spirit enough for him to stop what he was doing and wipe his eyes.

Arturo looked back at Jeff, hearing the boy's sniffles.

The older alchemist gave a sigh. If he kept showing this emotional weakness, that demon would show up and kill _everyone_…. Which was _never _a good thing.

"Come on, kid… snap out of it! Remember what I told you!" Arturo said, grabbing Jeff by the shoulders and shaking him.

Jeff snapped back to reality at his friend's words. His eyes were wide as he looked down at his hands, then back at Arturo.

"I-I think Resiak just woke up." He said, sounding concerned.

Arturo was about to give Jeff some more advice when he heard some activity at the open area nearby. He took a look around the rock they were camping behind and saw a gathering of people, all wearing jackets similar to the one Aurum had worn.

"Well, tell him to go back to sleep… Now is _not _the time…" Arturo said firmly, slinging the guitar over his back as he climbed further to peer over the edge of the rock to get a better look.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Jeff called, his voice a harsh whisper as he climbed after his friend.

The pair peered down. Several of the Aurum-look-alikes made their way around the rock.

"No one's here, Sir." They reported, glancing back.

Arturo and Jeff followed the men's glances to see another man, dressed more elaborately than the rest.

Jeff had to cover his hands over his mouth to stifle a gasp.

"Th-that's Zero!" he whispered, pointing him out to Arturo.

He was making his preparations, not that there was much to do to get ready. He moved towards another stone in front of him. On the stone, there was an incomplete rune that resembled the one on the wall of the cave. Removing a piece of chalk from his jacket pocket, he began drawing on the rock, in an effort to complete the rune.

"Looks like we arrived at the right time!" Jeff cheered quietly, "Now we can stop him before he harnesses the Tower's true strength."

_Yeah, funny how that timing worked out_

"What are you talking about, kid? I planned it this way the _whole time!_" Arturo said arrogantly, though silently, he wasn't sure how things worked out so well…

They continued watching as Zero finished drawing on the rock, then added his personal rune to the center of the array. He tossed his chalk aside, and placed his hand gently on the stone. Jeff caught a glimpse of the backs of Zero's hands, noticing that he too had runes tattooed there, only they were _different_.

"Is that really common among you runists?" Arturo asked, practically reading Jeff's mind.

"I-I don't know. Zero killed most of them before I could learn, b-but it definitely _looks_ that way," Jeff replied.

Zero activated the rune on the stone with a firm shout, as the rune began glowing with a faint red light.

As the red light pulsed and grew stronger, the ground started to shake. The shaking became more violent as the light grew brighter, though Zero seemed unaffected by the earthquake as did his followers; all of which stood emotionless… just staring at the source of the light like entranced moths. Something about them made Jeff nervous, but he really couldn't put his finger on it. Then, a loud rumbling began to erupt from beneath the ground, and as Jeff and Arturo continued watching the cult-ish sight, the distinct beginnings of a _building _began to make its way from its tomb. Higher and higher, the tower climbed Jeff couldn't help but think back to the State Alchemist Exam and his rival's fortress; but this was _much _bigger and _much _wider than that…

This was _breathtaking. _

Finally, the door to the Tower emerged; It's massive entrance appearing directly in front of Zero and the stone that he had drawn on.

Zero gave an arrogant smirk, and entered the Tower as he waved his hand to his followers, signaling them. Upon seeing the signal, each one of his followers nodded in unison. They turned around and faced away from the Tower. As they turned, Jeff leaned over the rock, trying to get a better look… and as he did, he realized that their faces were non-existent. The place where their faces should be were just blank canvases of moving flesh. No eyes, no nose, no ears… just moving blobs of skin, bone and muscle.

He glanced at Arturo, almost as if to get assurance of what he was seeing.

"All his followers are… are… _Empty!_" Jeff gasped.

Arturo turned his head to look at Jeff, now looking sincerely puzzled.

"Empty?"

Jeff nodded his head fervently.

"I-I forgot to mention it before! When someone is _Empty_, it means that a runist has exhausted his or her soul beyond regeneration. Their soul puts _too_ much energy into runes, and with the power of Equivalent Exchange, _everything _ends up being taken from them. They are basically empty inside, hence the name," Jeff explained. "We have to beat them if we want to enter the Tower."

"Are you going to make a plan?" Arturo asked, already predicting the answer.

"No, we don't have the time. Let's just go!" Jeff said hurriedly.

"How unlike you," Arturo said with a smirk.

_This is gonna be fun…_

"_Besides, _if I'm going to make Resiak an ally, I have to think like him every so often," Jeff said, though the trembling in his voice showed how reluctant he was at the thought.

Arturo donned his gloves, mentally preparing himself.

"Yeah, well, no matter _what _happens, no break downs… you got me?"

Jeff just nodded, as he put his tattooed runes together, and began stretching and forming two dense wood swords from seeds.

Arturo looked at the boy, breaking into another smirk.

"You don't seem to be treating this like an end-all battle," Arturo said, looking amused.

"Neither do you," Jeff replied, returning his friend's grin.

"How about a game, then?" Arturo proposed, "Wanna see who can take more of those Empties down?" Arturo asked, glancing back down at the enemies below them.

Jeff took a moment to ponder the idea, but then nodded.

"If I think of it as fun, then I can start to _think_ like Resiak! It may be nice to relax with 'sport' before facing Zero," Jeff said, sounding hopeful.

Arturo nodded.

_Hopefully you'll get better at controlling that demon of yours…_ Arturo thought.

Then, as he shook his head like a wet dog, he glanced once more at Jeff.

"Let's go," Arturo said, giving a pilot's nod of the head.

"Ok," Jeff replied, and climbing down the rock, they made their way towards the Tower… the Empties… and the danger that awaited them.


	7. Week of September 13 onwards?

Week of September 13.

Sadly, I must report that there will be no new chapter again this week. I have to concentrate on my schoolwork, but I will try to have a new chapter up once I get some free time. I'm very sorry to those that are expecting me to upload a new chapter. I am trying my best.


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